Straight Drive

We at Gen-next are very clear about a few things, to be extremely open and transparent about our processes and the way we function. The idea is that our readers,patrons, children, fan fraternity of Ashwin appreciate the kind of work being put in at Gen-next and at the same time get to know us better. With that in mind we bring to you this article called Straight Drive where we will feature internal stakeholders of Gen-next, their association with Gen-next and the Ashwin factor in all of it.

Today we bring to you a very well executed Straight Drive right from the middle of the bat of Aravind who is our coach at Gen-next. To tell you a little about Aravind,he is an Engineer by profession and a childhood friend of Ashwin. Their association goes back to their playing days. For Aravind Cricket is his first love and nothing gives him more happiness than coaching.

That is Aravind for you our super star Coach. You can walk into Gen-next and have a conversation with him any time. He went into a time wrap mode yesterday to reveal a lot of Trivia about Ashwin:

Trivia 1: Ashwin has a sweet tooth.

Once during the Under 10 days, the kids travelled to Bangalore to play a few matches. During one of the days they were about to wrap up things and leave the place. They had to board the bus. Everyone boarded the bus except for Ashwin. Clearly Ashwin had bowled the wrong one. No one had any clue about the wherebouts of Ashwin except for Aravind. so quickly he rushed to a nearby hotel where Ashwin was found feasting on his favorite sweet Rasagolla.

Trivia 2: Opening batsman and Opening bowler

Yes you heard it right, Ashwin in his initial playing days used to be a opening batsman and a opening fast bowler. It was all this way until one day Ashwin's coach asked him to try bowling off spin, rest as all of us know is history.

Friendship writ large all over his face when we at Gen-next probed Aravind about his childhood days. There was a palpable sparkle in his eyes when we probed him about his childhood. One of those days as 11 year olds while playing together, a couple of friends including Ashwin wandered into a huge bungalow which had an equally large ground. Grounds for kids would mean the temptation to indulge in cricketing ways. So the kids decided to indulge in few hits with bat and ball. Promptly the old lady of the house decided to come out and warn the kids against playing. But who was in a mood to listen....the kids continued. Aravind recalls that at that point of time Ashwin was quite tall for his age. So the game went one for some time, until a eight year old burly looking boy appeared on the scene. He quickly whipped a knife out of his pocket. Our brave-hearts eleven year old's fell at the eight year old's feet and beat a quick hasty retreat.

Aravind recalls that their parents were very close friends right from the initial days. Aravind first met Ashwin when he was 8 years old. Ashwin in those days was representing his school playing for Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and Aravind represented Santhome Higher Secondary School. Both of them came together for a team called TSR. Friendship struck, parents became close, and together the entire families would travel together to watch the matches. Cricket bought several such families together. In fact the presence of the parents was acknowledged by the children in a rather humorous manner. DDCA came to be formed-Deadly Daddy Cricket association. There is definitely a moral to this entire string of incidents.Parents are encouraged to be along with the children while they train or travel for the matches and this can be a huge moral support for the child.

Aravind's Thoughts on Coaching:

He believes that each child is unique. he adds that all the coaches at Gen-next follow the Ashwin Gen-next Bible of coaching . The philosophy of Gen-next is a three charter step forward to produce Good human beings,Better person in life, to be a supremely fit athlete, finally become a cricketer who enjoys the sport. We at Gen-next focus on the process and the end result takes care of itself.  Aravind feels that Parents have as much as an important role as the coaches. He adds that as a coach at Gen-next he and all the other staff are open to feedback. Parents are most welcome to interact with the coach.  He adds by saying that if Parents spend quality time with the coaches, some useful tips can be passed on which then can be practiced at home.End of Day it is the Parents who are and who will always be the best coaches for their children.

At Gen-next equal and unhindered opportunity is given to all the kids in practice games, when the competitive matches come up best eleven are chosen. Aravind laments that Coaching methodology used at the school level is not up to the mark. Coaches at schools control the game from the boundary line. There is unnecessary pressure at the school level to win tournaments, leading to disappointments and unfulfilled careers. At Gen-next we are interested in the implementation of our set processes and allowing the child to gradually fall in love with the game.  Children are coached and mentored and if they are not comfortable with some process or a coaching method, they are given adequate freedom to approach the coaches with the issues that they are facing. Aravind adds that Schools should be playing playing more 50 over games, where emphasis will clearly be on skills and fitness.

At gennext Coaches stress on the values of team spirit and follow the principle themselves as a team, among colleague coaches. We are extremely open. there is no question sugar coating.  We do not believe in giving any false hopes. We only encourage constructive feedback for the benefit of our children. Aravind signed off by saying that Cricket is a sport, effort should be made to enjoy the game. We at Gen-next only work towards "To Create Tomorrow's Cricketing Superstars."